Are Space Sets Worth it for the bonus?

markwilkinson86

Hi,

I'm currently running a Tact alien with the "elusive" trait in patrol escort with two EptS and 2 TT's so I pretty much has EptS and TT with 100% up time. The vast majority of the time I have no problem tankng damage while running 2 CRF from my DHC so dishing out great damage. I also run 2 ApO's which boost my defence and when things get really hairy I have a small buff from TSS1.

Everywhere I look on the forums I'm told I should be running 3piece borg set with Maco shields...

I currently have:

Deflector: MKXII Pos deflector with shield emitter, shield system and Structural integrity buffs all are 26.5 extra buff,
Sheilds: one of two MKXII resilient shield cap reg with either phaser or disruptor resistance depending who I'm against
Engines: aegis engines very nice +5% defence

Should I start running STFs to grind the better borg and maco gear... stat wise my current set up is superior esp the deflector which boosts my shields and EptS abilities. I understand the borg shield proc is meant to be a life saver, but its very rarely my shields fall that low, very rare indeed.

Long and short of it is given my current set up would I be better off with the "default" STO ship set up (3 piece borg and maco shield) or what I have? Perhaps you know a better set up for a Patrol Escort?

Any advice would be great.

Thx Mark

tom61sto

Borg 3 Piece plus good shields is usually the recommended starter setup for tanking. If your Mk XII setup is working well for you on tanking, there's isn't much reason to switch to it.

You might see if the MACO shield at the mark you're willing to grind for is better cap or regen than your current Mk XII resilient shield, though you have to factor in that other than plasma it has only a 10% energy damage resist.

Since you're running a Defense build, you might try the Aegis set, as it's third-peice proc goes well with high defense. Unfortunately, the shield will be less capacity than your current shield, so it might be a pass for that alone.

You also could take a look at the MACO and Omega space sets and see how their procs fit with your play style.

shimmerless

I've seen a lot of back and forth over the MACO/Borg deflector, and honestly, if you're happy with the MACO one and you're more used to the way it handles (boosts BOff powers better than the Borg one; loses the Borg shield proc) don't sweat it. If you're just handling in-game missions/PvE content you'll do just dandy.

As far as shields go, there are basically two classes of shields: the MACO shield and everything else. Among all the other options, there are different and competitive shield pieces, but MACO is so far above and beyond the rest it's ridiculous: they're resilient, they're (very) high cap for their type, they have two unique one-piece procs, one of which is a sick flat 10% energy damage reduction... it's really silly. Even the Mk X MACO shield outclasses just about everything else in the game.

mimey2

Yeah, 3 Borg with MACO shields is a great combo, if you want to do it, I'd recommend it. But don't feel like you HAVE to do it though.

Some sets are better in a whole, some sets are better split. I'll just tell you about all the sets and the bonuses you get from them, but not the individual pieces, that'd take too long.

Sets generally good as a whole:

Jem'hader set - 2 piece gives the Dominion Synergy buff, which enhances Polaron weaponry and gives a bonus to Power Insulators. 3 piece gives the Antiproton Sweep, which hurts shields in a 90 degree cone, and can shut off cloaking devices. If used on the Galor or Jem'hader ship, gives all polaron weaponry a 1% chance to knock off one buff from the enemy.

Aegis - As mentioned before, Aegis is a good tanking set all around. Two pieces gives the Thoron Distortion Field, which is an extra 5% defense when moving. All three gives the reactive shielding ability which can stack up to 10 times and reduces the damage done by that type to your hull (not shields).

Sets generally not good as a whole:

MACO - Feds only. Two pieces gives the Magnetoplasma Relays, which buffs Power insulators and gives a 5% power recharge speed. All three pieces give the Heavy Graviton Beam, which does kinetic damage, kills aux for a short time, and also knocks back the enemy.

Borg - Each piece seperately (but not the shields) are good by themselves, but the two piece provides a random, and large hull heal, while the three piece is a very good shield heal. They don't always proc when you want them to, but you'd be surprised how often they can come in handy. The tractor beam is generally considered to be a waste because of how rarely you can use it.

Sets that can go either way:

Breen Absolute Zero - Two piece buffs up considerably the damage all transphasic weapons do, along with a nice boost to Electro-Plasma Systems. All three pieces gives the Energy Dissipater which can be a nice once-in-awhile buff to your power, while draining your enemy.

Reman - I don't own the Reman set, so I will just go with what I do know about it. Two piece gives a good boost to your particle generators skill, along with enhancing High Yield Plasma Torpedoes, making them go faster and have higher defense, so they are harder to shoot down. Three piece adds a Covariant Capacitance Cell, which if being hit by energy damage, can briefly boost your max shield capacity by 5% for a short time, and stacks up to 5 times.

Omega - The two piece bonus gives a 'tetryon glider' causing all your energy weapons to drain shields a bit with each hit. three pieces gives the Gravitic anchor, which pretty much locks an opponent in place, making them weaker against kinetic damage while it is going as well.

Honor Guard - KDF only. Two piece gives Tactical Readiness passive ability, which provides a flat bonus of 7 aux power along with an alive/able crewman resistance buff, and a 25% buff to ALL torpedo damage. The three piece gives the Mask Energy Field ability, essentially a large AoE cloak, which doesn't allow you to fire, but does mask everyone else for a short time, and all of them can freely fire.

tom61sto

shimmerless wrote: »

As far as shields go, there are basically two classes of shields: the MACO shield and everything else. Among all the other options, there are different and competitive shield pieces, but MACO is so far above and beyond the rest it's ridiculous: they're resilient, they're (very) high cap for their type, they have two unique one-piece procs, one of which is a sick flat 10% energy damage reduction... it's really silly. Even the Mk X MACO shield outclasses just about everything else in the game.

MACO shields used to be that way, but they were nerfed in Season 5 quite a bit in capacity. IIRC, Aegis at level 50 now has slightly more cap than even Mk XI MACO now(but Aegis isn't resilient, and no 10% all energy).

areikou

I currently run Borg Engine, MACO Shield, MACO Deflector. I mainly do this because I still get the borg hull regen (With assimilated console), and get a better deflector with better shield/hull stats than the borg, and the obvious Maco shield, which makes your ship a great punching bag.

shimmerless

tom61sto wrote: »

MACO shields used to be that way, but they were nerfed in Season 5 quite a bit in capacity. IIRC, Aegis at level 50 now has slightly more cap than even Mk XI MACO now(but Aegis isn't resilient, and no 10% all energy).

That's true, there are shields with far higher cap than MACO. Like I said though, there aren't any that come nearly close to having both the bonuses and the competitive capacity that MACO does.

framesplicerx

I think Reman XII has the highest capacity, but nothing surpasses MACO X-XII as best overall shield tree.